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Introduction
Turn with me to Mark Chapter 6
Mark 6:
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
What is your primary response to people in need?
The Ministry of Jesus Begins with Compassion
The Ministry of Jesus Begins with Compassion
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6
We have a lot of options when responding to the needs of those around us:
Pity- We could feel sorry for them.
Pity- We could feel sorry for them.
Curiosity- We could wonder how they ended up in the situation.
Annoyed- We could ask why their problems affect us
Sad- We could hurt inwardly that they are going through this ordeal.
If we are to be like Jesus, we must be moved with compassion.
Compassion is beyond sadness, hurt or even anger in that compassion as used by Jesus goes beyond emotion. It is a call to action.
The phrase used in points a pretty graphic picture.
Verb splagchinizomai- to be moved as one’s bowels
To be moved with compassion is to care so deeply that you cannot rest until change is achieved.
Matthew’s account says Jesus had compassion because they fainted and were scattered abroad.
They were lost. That happens often in the life of sheep thats why we need a shepherd.
Compassion ALWAYS led Jesus to action
What do the following verses teach us about biblical compassion?
Compassion ALWAYS led Jesus to action
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matt 9:36
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
Matt
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Mark
“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.
And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Every single time we see compassion in the New Testament, direct action follows.
How could we respond in compassion to those in our community?
The Ministry of Jesus Continues Through a Cause
The Ministry of Jesus Continues Through a Cause
The cause of Christ is a spiritual mission with natural extensions.
Jesus shows us His great concern for the people:
They are like sheep with no shepherd.
This great conflict within Jesus become compassion. And the compassion becomes a cause.
He begins to teach them many things.
Jesus realizes that underneath our natural needs, there is something deeper.
We must never lose sight of the primary calling of the church: to reach, teach and unleash others in the ways of Jesus Christ.
The moment we cease to make this our priority we cease to be the church as Jesus described.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:17-
What did Jesus come to do? euaggelizo. Where we get the english word evangelize. Which is literally translated preach.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
matthew
On this truth, that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah/Savior of the world, He will build His church. Furthermore, He says that is what will happen but not yet. So, don’t tell anyone because your telling this truth is what will usher in this Kingdom.
This is how Jesus described the establishment of the church. My people telling and showing other people who I am.
For this cause the compassion that Jesus carries causes Him to get intimately involved in the solution.
When we seek to reach our community for Christ, we must prepare to get intimately and inconveniently involved in the cause.
Who does Jesus make responsible for the distribution of His Gospel and His blessing?
Jesus has just learned of the death of John the Baptist. The disciples have just returned from a ministry tour. Jesus is attempting to pull them aside to an isolated place so that they can debrief and rest.
Yet, for the sake of those in need, Jesus puts aside His humanity and the humanity of His disciples.
The disciples want to send the people away. It would be easier for everyone to just be responsible for themselves. After all, ministry is expensive. (6 months salary to feed those people)
Jesus goes beyond what is easiest or most convenient to do what needed.
The Ministry of Jesus has been Entrusted to the Converted
The Ministry of Jesus has been Entrusted to the Converted
When we seek to fulfill the mission of Christ, the converted must prepare to get intimately and inconveniently involved in the cause.
Jesus has just learned of the death of John the Baptist. The disciples have just returned from a ministry tour. Jesus is attempting to pull them aside to an isolated place so that they can debrief and rest.
Yet, for the sake of those in need, Jesus puts aside His humanity.
Jesus is not the only one who is called to make great sacrifice. The disciples have been so busy with ministry that they have not had time to eat. But Jesus calls them to put themselves second.
We too must be prepared to inconvenienced for the sake of the gospel.
How do we respond to inconvenient ministry opportunities?
Tell about a time when you said yes to an inconvenient ministry opportunity.
The disciples want to send the people away. It would be easier for everyone to just be responsible for themselves. After all, ministry is expensive. (6 months salary to feed those people)
Jesus goes beyond what is easiest or most convenient to do what needed.
We cannot underestimate the importance of Jesus’ ability to trust us with His mission.
We know this as the account of Jesus feeding the 5000. In actuality, Jesus never gives food to any of the 5000+.
They sit in groups of 50 and 100. The disciples bring 2 fish and 5 loaves to Jesus.
He prays, blesses what they have, then he breaks it.
He gives it to the disciples to distribute. He gives it to the hungry disciples to distribute.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Eph 4:11
We are called to
Jesus has trusted us to reach, teach and unleash people for the sake of the gospel. When we can be trusted with this mission, there is no limit to how He will work through us.
The call of leadership is one that will include great times of inconvenience. Times when we encourage others while needing encouragement ourselves. Times of feeding others when we ourselves are in need of nourishment.
It seems so easy to say “take a break”, “step back and take care of yourself”.
Here is our reality: Sometimes your solution is in your sacrifice.
After the disciples distribute until everyone is satisfied, they gather enough food to fill the twelve baskets that they used to distribute the food.
Here is a major choice that we all must make: “Do I choose what’s in front of me or do I trust God for whats before me?”
They assumed that Jesus controlled the spiritual side and they controlled the practical side. This is a great fallacy of the church. Jesus wants us to partner with Him for both.